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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: ground · pitcher · racket · wax · rash · wake · file · chest

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. ground — the earth
  6. rash — hasty
  7. chest — a box
  8. file — a tool
  9. rash — a series
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. ground — a position
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. chest — of your body
  14. wax — to grow
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. wake — a trail
  18. file — a line of people
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. ground — crushed
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. file — a document
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. pitcher — a jug

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com